It may be a musical, but “Spring Awakening” is no lighthearted romp through the Alps.

Based on a play by German expressionist Frank Wedekind, it deals with teen sex and pregnancy, homosexuality, rape, suicide, child abuse and abortion. That might be fodder for primetime television today, but it was heavy stuff back in 1892, when the play was written.

Reinvented as a rock musical, “Spring Awakening” features music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Steven Sater. A hit on Broadway, it received 11 Tony Award nominations in 2007, winning eight, including Best Musical.

The show also won four Drama Desk awards, and the London production won four Olivier Awards. Sater was presented with a Tony for best book, while Sheik received two Tonys, for best orchestration and best original score.

The Savannah College of Art and Design performing arts department will present the musical Feb. 29 through March 4 at the Lucas Theatre. The production is directed by Michael Wainstein, with musical direction by Kevin Wallace.

The production has been given the blessing of Sheik himself, who has a local connection.

“I mainly grew up in Hilton Head,” he says. “My whole formative years were right down the road from Savannah.”

While working on his third album, “Phantom Moon,” Sheik was given a translation of the play by his writing partner, Sater.

“He said, ‘Read this, tell me what you think, and maybe we’ll adapt it as a musical,’” Sheik says.

“At that point in my life, I wasn’t necessarily the biggest fan of musical theater. Initially, I was a little bit at a loss, but I read the play and liked it a lot.”

Not surprisingly, the play was extremely controversial in the 19th century.

“It’s strange and eccentric, a lot of fun, but also dark,” Sheik says. “We had many conversations about how we might approach an adaptation and how to musicalize it.

“Finally, I said, ‘If you think it’s legitimate, I’ll write music that is contemporary and my own aesthetic and not period or from any past musical. I was trying to find a way of making music that might be a little bit different than what you had heard on the stage before.”

Sheik says he and Sater weren’t aiming for a Broadway hit. “We were quickly disabused that it would be on Broadway at all due to its content and the style we were working with.

But “through some alchemy and magic, it defied expectations,” Sheik says. “To be fair, by the time we had transferred to Broadway and after three or four terrifying weeks of previews, the show opened.

“All of a sudden, the New York theater critics just decided our show was a cool thing and a great thing. They really championed it. All of a sudden, people showed up in droves, and it began selling out.”

Sheik attributes the show’s success to those critics.

“I remember opening night, it was almost kind of a funny classic Broadway story where we’re waiting for the press,” he says.

“All of a sudden, I saw the room erupt as the reviews started coming in. One after another, there were huge raves. It was an incredible windfall of enthusiasm and excitement.”

Sheik had already known success as a one-hit wonder in the ’90s with his single “Barely Breathing,” which played frequently on VH1 and pop radio.

Today, he’s writing music for another rock musical, “American Psycho,” which he’s hoping will be produced in the United Kingdom in 2013. “It’s coming along great,” he says. “We have an incredible creative team.

“Depending on how it’s received, we’ll see if it makes sense to bring it to the stage. It’s very, very controversial subject matter — not exactly family entertainment.”

“American Psycho” is even more intense than “Spring Awakening,” Sheik says.

“I do think it’s an important story to tell, given what’s going in our country right now,” he says.

As for SCAD, it’s not unusual to see universities and regional theaters doing productions of “Spring Awakening,” Sheik says. “It’s been surprisingly popular. I would think some people would be worried about the content of the piece. In fact, that’s also part of the reason people want to do it. It’s intriguing.

“There’s intense subject matter, but I don’t think it’s handled in a prurient way,” he says. “It’s handled in a serious and earnest and pretty elegant way.”

Not always under a dark creative cloud, Sheik also is working on a musical adaptation of the children’s book “Because of Winn-Dixie.” And he still comes home to Hilton Head whenever he can.

“I was there for Christmas,” Sheik says. “I’m there usually at least twice a year and still have family there. It’s great. I also visit Savannah, because it’s not that far.”

IF YOU GO

What: “Spring Awakening”

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 29 and March 1-3; 3 p.m. March 4

Where: Lucas Theatre, 32 Abercorn St.

Cost: $20 general admission; $15 with senior, student or military ID; $5 with valid SCAD ID; free with valid SCAD ID for Feb. 29 performance only